You are partially correct. The Senate is in violation of the law. The Congressional Budget Act states that “On or before April 15 of each year, the Congress shall complete action on a concurrent resolution on the budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1 of such year.” Unfortunately, there is no enforcement mechanism or penalty for the violation.
What needs to be passed by September 30 of each year is the legislation that actually appropriates money for all the federal programs. These appropriations bills are separate from the Budget Resolution. Congress continues to pass appropriations bills to keep the government open. However, without an actual budget, there is no coherent plan that lets citizens know that our path is unsustainable.
It is similar to continually writing checks on your bank account with no plans to make sure that you haven’t written more checks than you have deposited in the bank. If you have no plan, it is easy to overdraw your account. If you don’t have enough money in your account to pay for the rent or mortgage, you can be thrown out on the street. The government simply prints more money and will hand the bill to your children.
